Charles Francis
In 1998, Charles Francis, University of Nebraska–Lincoln professor of agronomy and horticulture, went on sabbatical leave to the Norwegian University of Life Sciences in Ås, Norway, to begin nearly two decades of working with the Agroecology Teaching Program in the Plant Sciences Department.
During that initial visit, Francis directed the first prototype course with the goal of improving teaching and learning methods to achieve better learning outcomes.
This November, the Norway Agroecology Teaching Program was presented with the prestigious Norway National 2016 Education Quality Award by the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research, for innovative contributions using participatory learning and for its work on educating agroecologists.
“This experience in the Nordic Region contributes to the breadth of knowledge and practice of new teaching methods that improve our courses at Nebraska,” Francis said.
The Norway Agroecology team has been teaching “Agroecology: Farming and Food Systems” for nearly two decades and the Midwest Agroecology team, which includes Nebraska, Iowa State University and the University of Minnesota, has taught “Agroecosystems Analysis.”
“Both teams have carefully evaluated learning success. These results have been published in over 30 journal articles and 12 book chapters describing innovation in education,” Francis said.